A gentle English Longhorn in the studio - work in progress this week

I had to take her off the easel to photograph, as there is so much light hitting the shiny surface of the painting. I hope to have this lady finished by the end of the week, I ‘might’ take her to Patchings with me if she is ready in time.( Knowing me, I wont actually decide which paintings will come with me until the day before!)

I love painting Longhorns, there is a big beautiful herd of these at Calke Abbey just up the road and I must pay them a visit over the Summer . Im using some of my beautiful earth tones, and copper for this piece, mixed in with some purples, pinks and brights.

A rainbow Cow painting triptych

Today at the studio I hope to finish this colourful guy. One of the things that I do as part of my process, as well as creating the big shapes first, is that I work intuitively on the first layers. I don’t try and worry too much about the final result. This then gives me something to respond to in the following sessions. So I have added all the colours that I wanted to add and the wild and woolly hair. Today I will work back into the paintings and edit, tidying up some of the edges and leaving others, hopefully ending up with the final cow that I envision. Watch this space, I’ll post another photo of the final piece.

I enjoy painting on three panels, the finished effect is cool and contemporary and you get different looks depending on whether you leave a gap when you hang the paintings. I’m currently feeling very glad that I have rented this size of a studio, I remember during the pandemic, when I was painting at home and trying to create a big piece like this in the spare room - not easy!

Buying an original piece of art - 10 reasons why you should.

1) When you buy an original painting or sculpture, whether directly from the artist or through an art gallery, you are helping to support the arts and perpetuate original art-making, which makes the world a better, more enjoyable place.

2) Original art carries all of the texture and original mark-making from the artist’s hand and has a much more tactile quality than a reproduction print. There may be lumps, bumps, scratches and heavy brush marks and even finger marks all adding to the uniqueness of the artwork.

3) There is a cachet to owning the one-off original, there is only one available, and it’s yours.

4 ) An original painting will usually carry the signature in paint on the front of the work, and a certificate of authenticity so you have all the official provenance, in case you decide eventually to sell the piece of art.

5) An original piece will accrue in value over time, so that when you are buying an artwork, you are making an investment, rather than just filling a space on your wall as you might with a print.

6) Original pieces of art are collectable. When you purchase from an artist, you become a collector of their work. If you really love the paintings by the artist and follow them, it’s exciting to see new pieces come onto the market.

7) Original art seems to bring enlivening energy to a home, perhaps its the excitement of owning a one-off piece by an artist that you love, or maybe the piece carries with it some of the heart and spirit that caused the artist to create it. Either way, its always a positive addition to your living space.

8) A painting is a truly elegant way of bringing your own taste and style to a room, when you choose a painting that resonates with you, it’s a bit like playing your favourite music, your guests will immediately see what you are all about.

9) Originals are a talking point and a focal point. The clarity of colour and variety of texture grabs the eye and can be a great conversation starter

. 10) The sheer joy of owning an original that you love will make you smile every day as you look at it.

Painting a horse portrait with lost and found edges.

This painting that I am currently working on is from two pretty good photographs, but I wanted to create a lot more atmosphere and romance in the oil painting than exists in the photos. The horse is a gorgeous aged gentleman, at 36 years still going strong and I want the piece to have a timeless quality.

To this end, I have replaced the stable walls and door and rug in the photo with a background half in deep shadow and half in light. He emerges from the shadows with the light accentuating his profile. (He has such a beautiful facial bone structure that I had to show it to the best advantage in his portrait).

The edges take on new importance in this portrait, meaning that I am trying to create contrast in some important focal areas ( the nasal peak, and the eyes)  while playing down contrast in other areas so that they lose themselves in the background. 

*Update -here are a couple of photos of the finished portrait.

You can see that I managed to refine the bone structure a great deal. I constantly check and measure proportions throughout the layers of a painting, making adjustments as I go along.

Work in progress - Coonhound Mix Coda

This small oil is painted from a photo reference kindly supplied by permission of Karen Broemmelsick. I love this dog's expressive eyes. This is the third time I have painted a portrait of Coda.  I have a little work to do on the feet, which I will leave slightly deconstructed so as the keep the main focus on her eyes. 

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